An Ending, A New Beginning

Lightning. Thunder. Wind. A rainstorm.
The nest that a bird couple built in my Japanese Bamboo on the balcony is dislodged.
I notice the fallen nest after the sun came up again.

I wait for the birds to return.
After one whole movie, I hear chirping.
Desperate, mournful chirping.
The birds flit around the nest and hover over it.
One of them fly into my living room, and chirps in my direction, as if calling for help.

Last year, I rescued a nestling that fell out of its nest, in my same plant.
Its parents flew into my living room to thank me.

Is the bird in my living room one of the two grateful parents?
I do not know, I don't tag birds.

I pick up the fallen nest and look through the opening.
There's an egg in it!
Oh dear...

I can't glue the nest back on the branch.
So I place it in a planter, and leave it by the Japanese Bamboo.

Two days later, I notice a bird at the fallen nest.
It has building materials.
I watch...
The second bird returns, also carrying building materials.
And I watch...

The birds leave and I go to the planter.
My heart skips a beat.
The bird couple had covered up the nest, as if burying its egg.
I feel sadness.
Sadness that brings tears to my eyes.

It is the weekend again.
I hear chirping and look out to my balcony.
The bird couple is back.
They are building another nest.
Oh, please build a stronger one this time, I tell them softly.

It is now four weeks.
The new nest is still being built.
Not as prettily as the first.
But it looks much stronger.

I am hopeful that it will withstand any windstorm.
I am hopeful for the bird couple.

With every ending, there is always a new beginning.
Even for the birds...